There was a time not so long ago when I would positively salivate in anticipation of a new Tim Burton movie. I’d rev up my excitement by revisiting his classics: Beetlejuice,” “Batman Returns” and “Edward Scissorhands.” But as the years whipped by and the flops piled up, this became less a fun tradition and more a torture session where I’d see how imaginative, wonderfully weird, and emotionally rich his films once were, only to be confronted with how lackluster, lame and self-plagiarizing they are now. A rocky road littered with underwhelmed reviews and poor profits has led us to the loony “Dark Shadows,” the lifeless “Frankenweenie,” the eye-roll-inducing “Big Eyes” and his latest, the forgettable kids flick “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”

Based on the Ransom Riggs novel of the same name, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” follows lonely 16-year-old Jake (Asa Butterfield), whose world is pitched into a spin when his grandfather (Terrence Stamp) dies under mysterious circumstances. Sure, the police say his grandpa was killed by wild dogs roaming quiet Florida suburbs, specifically the kind of wild dogs that tear down screen doors, ransack houses, rip up fences as if they were tissue paper, then kill their victim by eating his “soft parts,” meaning the eyes. Understandably, Jake’s not satisfied with that explanation. Seeking what really happened to his grandfather, he follows clues to a remote Welsh village, where the teen time-travels to meet the film’s titular governess and her selection of strange wards, who all possess incredible powers.

"It's going to be an R-rated, scary, badass sort of script."

The Spawn movie fans have always clamored for is coming, according to character creator Todd McFarlane.

The Image Comics co-founder talked about the upcoming reboot centered on the antihero for an episode of AMC's Geeking Out, which ComicBook.com was first to preview. 

McFarlane was asked straight up if fans were going to get another, better movie following the 1997 film which starred Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo and Martin Sheen.  

"The simple answer is yes," McFarlane replied, who has spoken about the possibility over the years. "It's not going to be a continuation. It's not going to be a sequel. Scrub the first movie."

That should be welcome news to fans who were severely underwhelmed by the PG-13 film 20 years ago, which was not reflective of the dark, violent, brutal world captured in the comic and short-lived HBO animated series.

"It's going to be a dark, R-rated, scary, badass sort of script. It's not a nice, polite PG-13," McFarlane insisted. The 1997 version was lacking in all those departments in order for the film to have a softer rating, likely done to help it at the box office. (It grossed just $54 million against a $40 million budget.)

McFarlane also said the reboot would utilize more practical effects; the first film was saturated with CGI in almost every frame, which barley held up then.  

No timetable for the film was given in they preview, but the creator succeeded in generating buzz: Spawn began trending on Facebook after the clip was posted. 

Source  : Hollywood Reporter

After teasing the “Suicide Squad” collectible figure in July, Hot Toys has released details and official photos of its 1/6th-scale “Batman Imposter” version of the Joker.

While audiences, alas, didn’t get to see this take on the Clown Prince of Crime in the Warner Bros. film, the figure was crafted “in the spirit of the movie,” with the Hong Kong toymaker’s signature attention to detail.

According to Hot Toys, designers “let their imagination run wild” to create what’s more than merely a color-swapped version of Ben Affleck’s Batman costume. Closer inspection of this maniacally grinning Joker figure reveals touches like “Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha” written in red paint — or blood — along the left leg, playing card suits on the utility belt, the Joker’s name emblazoned over the Bat-emblem, and the smiley-face on the right forearm. Hot Toys even included a replica of the Joker’s “Damaged” tattoo across the green mask.

Although this “Batman Imposter” has a supply of blood-soaked Batarangs, his signature weapon appears to be Joker’s ostentatious golden gun, which fires a flag bearing the message, “God’s only child.”

The exclusive figure, which also comes with a “Suicide Squad”-themed display stand and character backdrop, will be available only in “selected markets.”

According to none other than DC Comics president/CCO and DC Extended Universe overlord Geoff Johns, Joe Manganiello will indeed be playing the mercenary/assassin Deathstroke in Warner Bros.’ upcoming film slate. It’s looking like Manganiello will be antagonizing Ben Affleck‘s Batman in the writer/director/star’s solo adventure that’s looking to hit screens as early as 2018. And while fans might get a glimpse of Deathstroke, a.k.a. Slade Wilson, in Zack Snyder‘s upcoming Justice League film (perhaps in a stinger scene), we’ve actually already seen the man in action thanks to a teaser released by Affleck over social media.

Though quotes are scant at the moment, the news comes from The Wall Street Journal which reports that Johns himself confirmed the casting. Johns stopped short of confirming whether or not Manganiello had a cameo in Justice League, but since the production is still underway in London, there’s every chance that he’ll make an appearance. Whether that was always the plan or whether that opportunity will come up in the eventual reshoots remains to be seen.

In case you missed it, here’s Affleck’s reveal of the live-action version of Deathstroke, now known to be Manganiello:

Source : Collide

DC’s Black Lightning may be the next superhero headed for the small screen.

On the heels of Ben Affleck’s Deathstroke tease, TheWrap reports that the character will be the primary antagonist of the upcoming “Batman” solo film.

Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, Deathstroke originally appeared as an antagonist in “The New Teen Titans” #2 and first encountered Batman in the “City of Assassins” storyline of his solo series. A mercenary and assassin, the character has gone on to become a villain for multiple other characters, up to and including Green Arrow. In addition to “Arrow,” Deathstroke has appeared in “Lois & Clark,” “Smallville,” the animated “Teen Titans” television series, “Young Justice,” and “Beware the Batman.”

Affleck’s tease follows “Arrow” executive producer Marc Guggenheim’s comments about the character, who appeared as a primary antagonist in the first two seasons of the popular CW series. In February, Guggenheim told fans, “The character of Slade Wilson [Deathstroke] is currently tied up in another DC project.” From the looks of Affleck’s video, it appears that Deathstroke might just show up in “Justice League,” at least briefly.

Directed by Zack Snyder, “Justice League” hits theaters on November 17, 2017. The Ben Affleck-directed “Batman” film hasn’t been given a release date.

Source : CBR

Over the course of 20 years working at Marvel, Joe Quesada has climbed the ranks majorly, shaping the publisher’s creative vision in a big way. After serving as an interior artist for a number of years and going on to craft the massively successful Marvel Knights imprint, Quesada graduated to editor-in-chief, overseeing the publisher’s entire line from “House of M,” to “Civil War” and “Brand New Day,” among other major storylines. These days, Quesada is Chief Creative Officer at Marvel, serving as the liaison between the company’s publishing and entertainment divisions.

Appearing at Comic-Con International: San Diego, CBR News had the opportunity to speak with Quesada about his workflow as CCO, in addition to the time he currently spends drawing, the influence of his work on the current slate of Marvel Netflix shows, and more.

RELATED: Quesada Surrenders to the Dark Side with “Darth Vader” Variant Cover

Describing a day of work, Quesada told CBR’s Albert Ching, “The beauty of my job, and the thing that I always feel incredibly blessed to be able do — besides being able to work in this industry — is the fact that no two days are ever the same. Everyday is different. One day I could be working on scripts, one day I could be working on things for comic books. I would say that right at this moment, just because of the sheer density of the work we have, I’m doing a lot of stuff in television right now. In particular, the Netflix stuff is taking up a considerable amount of time. But while I’m working on the Netflix stuff [for example] I’m drawing a Darth Vader cover for a Star Wars comic, and I’m working on other things.”

He added, “People assume I’m not drawing as much — which is true — but I’m still drawing a considerable amount. It’s not stuff for print, it’s design work. Or even at [SDCC], there’s a Luke Cage poster that’s sort of a concept drawing, and that’ll be out there. But yeah I’d say that right now it’s probably the Netflix stuff that we’re doing.”

Quesada touched on his longing for the days when he was solely an artist, saying, “It’s the stuff I miss. When I actually have the opportunity to sit down and draw, I’m like ‘God, yeah, I could so easily go back to doing this 10 hours, 12 hours a day,’ because it’s what I’ve always done. So there is a sort of melancholy feeling that I get when I start doing it, because I know I’ll only be doing it for a short spurt, then I gotta move on to the next thing. Most recently actually — and I can’t really say what this is for — but I did do a four-page sequential story that’ll actually be in a film. But again, when somebody’s ready to talk about that, they can. It’s not a big deal, I had an offer to do it, I said, ‘absolutely I have to do it, it sounds like great fun,’ and I did it.”

RELATED: Spencer Says His “Captain America” Story is Bigger than Fans Expect

While Quesada’s no longer regularly drawing comics, the influence of his past work is evident in shows like “Daredevil,” which takes elements of the grounded, gritty incarnation of the character he helped revive in the late ’90s. Asked about his love of the take on the property, Quesada said, “Not only do I gravitate towards that realism and sort of darker, hardboiled side of the Marvel Universe, but it also takes place in my hometown. I’m a New Yorker,, I’m still a New Yorker, and I love the fact that we’re shooting in New York. So it’s everything I could want out of something like this.”

Quesada remarked on the satisfaction of reimagining his early work: “…it’s incredibly gratifying as well to see stories that I group up with, from the Miller stuff and beyond. Even the stuff that I had the opportunity to work on, with Kevin Smith and David Mack, and so many other people, and see parts of that portrayed in the series. And Jessica Jones, I was lucky enough to bring Brian Michael Bendis to Marvel and help usher Jessica Jones, he created the character with Michael Gaydos. It’s great to see that stuff actually happening.”

Source: CBR